A Message from Richard Lee, Ph.D.
This course is an opportunity to integrate the elements from my career in journalism, government and academia.
As a journalist, I covered rock’n’roll, and I covered politics and government. I later went to work in government, serving in a number of communication positions, including Deputy Director of Communication for two New Jersey governors.
In 2003, a few weeks short of my 50th birthday, I decided to go back to school and earn a Ph.D. – not because I wanted to teach, but because I wanted to take a step back and understand the meaning behind all of the fast-paced demanding jobs I had held. For years, I had moved to right from one job to another with little or no time to unpack what I had accomplished and where I was heading.
The genesis of this course lies in research I conducted while I was earning my doctorate. I wrote a paper, which later became a book chapter, about the role of protest music during the Vietnam war era. My theory, which turned out to be true, was that protest songs provided the public with information about the war that the mainstream media was not reporting.
For me, the paper and book chapter, brought together – for the first time – the various elements of my career. I interviewed songwriters; I tapped into my journalism experience, and I explored the situation from an academic perspective.
In the ensuing years, I’ve noticed an increasing blurring of the lines between politics and entertainment.
In my Media and Democracy and Honors courses, I spend time explaining how Bill Clinton’s appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show opened the door for politicians to use talk and entertainment programs to reach voters without the scrutiny of the media. I also touch upon a series of studies from the early 2000s that showed young people were learning about the news from programs such as the Daily Show and that the content of the Daily Show, while humorous, was not too different from the content of a network newscast.
More recently, I’ve talked about how Volodymyr Zelensky played the president of Ukraine on a sitcom before he actually became the president of Ukraine, and also how the congressional committee investigating the insurrection used television techniques in its hearings. And as I was developing the concept for this course, Gannett decided to hire a beat reporter just to cover Taylor Swift – and another to cover Beyonce.
In this course, we will tie together these and other developments, take a deeper dive and look at what the future may hold. For a preview of what to expect, take a look at my work on this topic – my writing and my conference presentations.
Selected Articles
Sharp Notes, Sharp Thoughts: A Music and Social Justice Project
I’m Bruce Springsteen, and I approved this message
Comedy, public policy and ‘Mr. Mayor’
The Who’s ‘Tommy’ has the makings of a good political candidate
Entertainment Once Again Comes to the Aid of Journalism
An Event that Altered the Dynamics between Politicians and the Press
It’s Time to Get Serious About Comedy
‘Wade in the Water’ has a legacy beyond basketball
Conference Presentations
“In a Digital and Divided America, Can Music Still be a Force for Social Justice?” Panel discussion at the New York State Communication Association Conference, Villa Roma Resort, Callicoon, N.Y., Oct. 15-17, 2021.
“How Terribly Normal to be 70,” Feb. 5, 2021, presented online at No one listens to Springsteen anymore. He’s history!: Pop-rock Music and 2000s Cinema symposium co-organized by the research groups CREW EA 4399 (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle) and CIRLEP EA4299 (Université Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France).
“The River: After Declaring He Was Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen Settles Down,” proposal accepted for The Ties That Bind: Bruce Springsteen’s The River at 40 symposium at Monmouth University (conference postponed because of pandemic).
“I Read the News Today: A Media Lesson About John Lennon’s Murder,” proposal accepted for the 2020 Joint Journalism and Communication History Conference co-sponsored by the American Journalism Historians Association and the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (conference postponed because of pandemic).
“A Musical Look at the 2020 Presidential Election,” Nov. 9, 2019, at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association Conference, Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
“Bob Dylan, Citizen Journalist: Exploring The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll.” June 1, 2019, at The World of Bob Dylan Symposium, University of Tulsa Institute for Bob Dylan Studies, Tulsa, Oklahoma
“The White Album as Journalism,” Nov 11, 2018, at The Beatles’ The White Album: An International Symposium, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, N.J.
“I’m Bruce Springsteen and I Approved this Message,” April 14, 2018, at Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town: An International Symposium, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, N.J.
“Bob Dylan, Citizen Journalist: Exploring The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol.” March 2014, at the Joint Journalism and Communication History Conference co-sponsored by the American Journalism Historians Association and the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, New York University Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York, N.Y.
“The Boss and the Gov: Who’s the Real Jersey Guy — Bruce Springsteen or Chris Christie?” November 2013, with Anne Lee at the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association conference, Tropicana Casino and Resort, Atlantic City, N.J.
“So Much Older Then …Younger Than That Now?” November 2012, at the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association conference, Wyndham Grand, Pittsburgh, Pa.
“Bruce Springsteen and Chris Christie: Exploring the Similarities Between Two Dissimilar Men,” September 2012, at Glory Days: A Bruce Springsteen Symposium, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, N.J.
“Bill Clinton on Arsenio Hall: A Musical Performance that Ushered in a New Dynamic Between Politicians and the Press,” March 2012, with Anne Lee at the 2012 Joint Journalism and Communication History Conference co-sponsored by the American Journalism Historians Association and the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.
“Protest Music as Alternative Media During the Vietnam War Era.” October 2010, at the Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association Conference, South Minneapolis, Minn.
“Bruce and New Jersey in the 21st Century.” September 2009, at Glory Days: A Bruce Springsteen Symposium, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, N.J.
“The Folksinger as a Walking Newspaper: How Protest Music Functioned As Alternative Media during the Vietnam War Era,” March 2009, at the Joint Spring Meeting of the American Journalism Historians Association and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication History Division co-sponsored by the American Journalism Historians Association and the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Marymount Manhattan College, New York, N.Y.
“1968: Protest Music Enters the Mainstream as Opposition to Vietnam Grows,” November 2006, at the Global Resistance/Local Knowledge Conference, Drew University, Madison, N.J.
“The Ability of Protest Music to Serve as an Alternative Media and Effect Social Change,” March 2006, at New Jersey Communication Association’s Tenth Annual Conference as part of panel titled Media, Mass Media, and Music: Issues and Responses, Montclair, N.J.
Additional Articles
Patricia Kennealy-Morrison: 1946-2021
Word of Lennon’s Death Traveled a Path Similar to Today’s News
A debate playlist for two men singing different tunes
The journalism lessons of ‘Almost Famous’
John Prine’s ode to journalism
Current movies show the true meaning of Woodstock
‘Toy Story’ provides a lesson on the state of the media
A musical look at the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates
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